Miami Dolphins QB Tua Tagovailoa downgraded to questionable for Week 17 game

On By Littum

The Miami Dolphins may still be in the playoffs when they face the Cleveland Browns on Sunday, but at least it’s starting to look like they’ll have to try to win that game without quarterback Tua Tagovailoa.

The Dolphins downgraded Tagovailoa from questionable to questionable because of the hip injury he suffered against the Houston Texans in Week 15.

Tyler “Snoop” Huntley would make his fourth start for the Dolphins if Tagovailoa ends up inactive, which would almost be a given if the Dolphins are out of the playoffs.

Skylar Thompson was elevated from the practice squad to either serve as Huntley’s backup against Cleveland or perhaps be the emergency third quarterback.

Hearing Tua dealing with a hip injury is clearly not ideal given the serious hip injury he suffered during his final season at Alabama, though it’s not clear if his current injury is to the same hip.

Tagovailoa played down this current injury when he conducted his weekly media session on Thursday.

“I mean, it’s good,” Tagovailoa said. “It’s like everybody else on the team and everybody else in the league. You get beat up a little bit toward the end of the year, so you just deal with that.”

Tagovailoa, of course, missed four games earlier this season when he landed on injured reserve after suffering a concussion in Thursday night’s Week 2 loss to the Buffalo Bills.

This latest injury is potentially very troublesome, not specifically for this season because the Dolphins’ playoff chances really aren’t very realistic, but for what it could mean moving forward.

That should give the Dolphins more evidence that they absolutely, positively need to be better prepared next season to have to play games without Tagovailoa.

In Huntley’s three starts earlier this season, the Dolphins went 1-2 with a win against the New England Patriots at Gillette Stadium and losses against the Tennessee Titans and Indianapolis Colts.

Huntley’s stats aren’t particularly impressive, with a 59.1 completion percentage and an ugly 73.9 passer rating.

When Huntley or Thompson started while Tagovailoa was on IR, the Dolphins averaged exactly 10 points in those four games, and the 1-3 stretch against four teams that currently have a losing record has played a not-insignificant role in the playoffs – the hopes as they are. is.